Retail giant Aeon is to become a major stakeholder of Japanese supermarket chain Inageya by raising the ownership to more than 50 per cent from 17 per cent currently, making Inageya the group’s consolidated subsidiary.

The acquisition – the value of which has yet to be disclosed – will be completed next year. Inageya is expected to be delisted. 

Inageya was founded as a fresh fish merchant in Tokyo in 1900 before becoming the city’s major supermarket chain. 

The merger is part of Aeon’s effort to strengthen its presence in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where Inageya has a network of about 270 stores. The Japanese group aims to make digital-related investments and procurement of goods more cost-effective through the stake increase. 

According to Nikkei Asia, Aeon will make additional investments in a few years to make Inageya a subsidiary of United Super Markets Holdings, which owns Maruetsu Inc, Kasumi Co and MaxValu Kanto Co.

Last year, Aeon announced its plan to triple the number of shopping locations in Vietnam by 2025 as part of its Southeast Asia expansion plan.